Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 18th Nov 2007 15:46 UTC
This is the sixth article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III | part IV | part V]. On the internet, and especially in forum discussions like we all have here on OSNews, it is almost certain that in any given discussion, someone will most likely bring up usability and GUI related terms - things like spatial memory, widgets, consistency, Fitts' Law, and more. The aim of this series is to explain these terms, learn something about their origins, and finally rate their importance in the field of usability and (graphical) user interface design. In part VI, we focus on the dock.
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Member since:2005-06-29
RE[2]: Dock vs. Launcher
by PowerMacX on Mon 19th Nov 2007 18:44
in reply to "RE: Dock vs. Launcher"
Member since:2005-11-06
OK, so then:
1. I click an app in the RISC OS dock, and it opens
2. I click on another app in the dock, and that one opens
3. I click back in the first icon and it switches to the first app (instead of launching another instance)
4. I open an app by some other means, and it appears in the dock as you confirmed
5. I close said app and it disappears from the dock
6. I can add non-running apps to the dock
Are all of those assertions true? Because that is not completely clear from the article or the wikipedia page. I guess I'll have to try the emulator to find out for sure 
Member since:
2005-11-06
I never used RISC OS, so I have to ask, did that "dock" show:
1. Installed applications
2. Running applications
3. Both?
That is, can I launch an application from somewhere else and it would automatically show up on the Dock? Otherwise it's just an app launcher, no different to a "desktop" but limited to the bottom of the screen.